Tennessee football vs. Charlotte: 10 keys for Vols and 49ers

Tennessee football’s homecoming game against Charlotte is a chance to get back on track. Here are the keys to the game for the Volunteers and 49ers.

With four games left, Tennessee football has an uphill climb to reach bowl eligibility. But the Vols have a chance to get one step closer to that this weekend with their only likely win left on the schedule against the Charlotte 49ers.

However, even as it’s a likely win, Jeremy Pruitt was smart to point out that this team has a better record than the Vols right now. They are 4-4 while UT is 3-5. So even though it’s homecoming and even though they are at home against a Group of Five team, Rocky Top needs to be ready.

Charlotte would be Tennessee football’s second best win of the year and certainly more impressive than the UTEP Miners and ETSU Bucs. Brad Lambert’s team is entering this game trying to reach a bowl game themselves.

As a result, you can’t just consider this a cakewalk win for the Vols. They would like to make it that, but there are quite a few things they will have to do to make sure that happens. Meanwhile, there are plenty of things Charlotte can do to offset that happening.

This could become a tough game that the Vols don’t want to play. As we get set to bring you our keys to the game, it’s important to note that what UT does could help put it away early. That’s what they really want to do.

If Charlotte hangs around, they may have just enough to exploit the lack of depth on the Vols. That’s specific with one key, which is later in this post. But what are the other factors at play? Let’s break them down here. These are the 10 keys to Tennessee football’s homecoming game against the Charlotte 49ers.